@MrsJoyful80: Ditto. My dog doesn’t care what my hair looks like, what I weigh, or how I’m dressed. He still cuddles up to me all the same, never treats me differently, and when I cry he comes up and sits with me. He’s pretty much the perfect man because he never says anything stupid ;o)

unconditional love and loyalty. There is literally nothing like the welcome of a dog. And the loyalty. My dog knows when I am down or sick and does her best to cheer me up. She is amazing and I love her with all my heart…

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.You are his life, his love, his leader.He will be yours, faithful and true,to the last beat of his heart.You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.”-unknown

^ this. I love my dogs. I love to watch them play, I love learning what their barks mean, I love the different expressions they can make with their furry little faces. I love that my dogs are protective of me (but not aggressive to others). I simply can not imagine a scenario in which I would come home to an empty (or clean!) house.

Every morning I get out of bed, and my dog spoons my Fiance and licks his face. About 10 minutes after their cuddle time she comes down stairs and JUMPS into my arms and gives me kisses and wags her tail like she hasnt seen me for days. We have the same routine when we get home from work. How can anyone not LOVE waking up to that everyday!? Total, and unconditional love.

The love! As long as you feed them and take care of them they love you no matter what. They never judge and are always happy to see you and think you are the most wonderful person in the world. If you put 100% in you will be sure to get 200% back. They have a way of cheering you up and making you smile by not even saying a thing. Who doesn’t love to be loved all the time and never judged?!

I think in our case it’s been watching her learn and grow! And the pride we take in being able to give her a good and happy doggy life!

When we take her to this large fenced in field and throw a ball and she just runs and runs…I feel such happiness in my heart to be able to provide her that.

Also, and I know this may be unique to our family, but we’ve been through a lot this year with my husband getting into recovery and this dog has really given us something outside of ourselves to focus on and pour love into. I think it’s really made a difference in how we’ve moved forward from some really hard things that we’ve had to deal with.

Whenever I am feeling down, I go “visit” with dog. I get down and rub her belly or pet her and she is always happy about it and it always cheers me up. They are innocent and in-the-moment. No matter what happens in a day, when you walk in that door, it is like you are the bees knees. They are thrilled- you coming home is the best.thing.ever. It feels good to have simple, unconditional love. I also raised dog myself, got her before Darling Husband. We have a very good relationship. I taught her hundreds of words and she really listens. I taught her to fetch and to take hand signals. It is rewarding to have a relationship built on trust, respect, and mutual understanding- give and take. I spent a lot of time training Dear Dog, and I have gotten a lot in return. Also, dear dog gets me out every single day for a hike or walk- that is a healthy thing. No matter what, she needs to go out, so it keeps me active. It is fun to have a dog to hike with and camp with. When I first got her I lived alone and she made me feel safe. She only barks when someone is drunk, or acting agressively.

It is nice to have something so sweet and kind and simple- walk over, pet dog = happiness for both of you. Life is complicated. Give dog a treat= everyone is happy. It is simple. You really get out of a dog what you put into it.

I had another dog that I adopted that had the cutest tail. Every time he heard your voice, you would hear “thump thump thump.” Even across the house. He loved the sound of my voice, it was the cutest thing. When I first got him I took him everywhere. Once I went to a laundromat and I left the windows in my mustang down (I had just gotten him) and I ran in, dropped the laundry and turned around and he was not in the car. I ran to the door and sure enough, he was happily sitting at the glass door, watching me and wagging his tail. He was such a happy, positive spirit. Nothing ever got him down and he was just good positive energy. It was like, he would not “think” to run away. He loved people.